29. 04.
This discipline is a massive kick in the ass of Western Civilization. I will quote from several places in Richard J. Foster’s chapter on Simplicity:
Simplicity is freedom… simplicity brings joy and balance…
Contemporary culture lacks both the inward reality and the outward life-style of simplicity… We are trapped in a maze of competing attachments…
We crave things we neither need or enjoy… The mass media have convinced us that to be out of step with fashion is to be out of step with reality…
Covetousness we call ambition. Hoarding we call prudence. Greed we call industry.
I am surely not the best person to be telling others to live a more simplistic life, and that is not at all my intention. This discipline is most definitely one I struggle with most. I do not blame my career or the culture I live in, rather I tend to use those things as excuses for a lack of discipline in this area. I enjoy owning the latest in computer technology and knowing all there is to know about the Web industry. I don’t think those things are negative, however, if my time is only dedicated to these things for the purpose of making my own life better and easier, I have missed the point of hard work.
God has given us gifts, and all of us are capable of using those gifts to fill our lives with more stuff. However, God intends for those gifts to be used for helping others and bringing glory to God.
May God give you-and me-the courage, the wisdom, the strength always to hold the kingdom of God as the number-one priority of our lives. To do so is to live in simplicity
Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline
26. 04.
As Richard J. Foster writes in his book, Celebration of Discipline, study involves four steps:
- Repetition.
Ingrained habits of thought can be formed by repetition alone, thus changing behavior. - Concentration.
The brains natural ability to store and focus on information is enhanced when, with singleness of purpose, we center our attention upon a desired object of study. - Comprehension.
When we not only repeatedly focus the mind in a particular direction centering our attention of the subject, but understand what we are studying, we reach a new level. - Reflection.
In reflection we come to understand not only our subject matter, but ourselves.
One other thing that is important when practicing the discipline of study is humility. In order to make good and proper use of knowledge, I must approach the subject with a humble spirit. I cannot be teachable and arrogant at the same time.
24. 04.
It is sobering to realize that the very first statement Jesus made about fasting dealt with the question of motive (Matt. 6:16-18). To use good things to our own ends is always the sign of false religion. How easy it is to take something like fasting and try to use it to get God to do what we want.
Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline
When I first took a serious look at the discipline of fasting, I never really thought of it as something necessary for me to practice. However, I decided to do it anyway. I started off fasting for about a day and a half. Then, I fasted for 24 hours once every week for about 10 weeks. What a wonderful experience it was.
During the times that I would have normally been eating, I spent that time alone, meditating or in prayer. God, through His word, revealed to me things that I needed to change in my life.
I think my time of fasting was most effective because I did it out of obedience, rather than to get something from God. I noticed after a few weeks I started to expect God to reveal new things to me, and when he wasn’t, I was going to quit. However, I realized that the purpose of fasting is not necessarily so that God will reveal new things to me, rather it is a time devoted to God in response to recognizing His provision in my life. Foster also notes:
Fasting must forever center on God. It must be God-initiated and God-ordained. Like the prophetess Anna, we need to be “worshiping with fasting” (Luke 2:37). Every other purpose must be subservient to God.
William Knelsen